“What’s it like to do an internship or co-op term with Ubisoft Winnipeg?”

Since we opened, more than 40 students have spent their term learning and working with us, so we thought we’d ask them! From their first day to what surprised them the most, hear what a term at Ubisoft is like from past co-ops Alyson Betz, Yvonne Zhang, Michael Packer and Kris Bessason.

 

What made you decide to apply to Ubisoft for your co-op term?

Yvonne: I think every programmer has a dream to help making games, I have since I was small!
Michael: I had a previous degree in biology and chemistry, and I would always find myself going back to debugging and code, and this stood out to me as a good choice for me!
Alyson: I’ve loved Ubisoft games my entire life, I love AC2, so when I saw I could apply I had to!

What was the application and interview process like?

Alyson: You sent in a cover letter and resume, you got an invitation to do an interview. I was interviewed by a developer and member of HR, so I had tech questions and general soft skills questions.
Michael: When I first got my interview I was nervous! It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was – everyone was super friendly, it wasn’t scary at all.
Kris: Great – I was super nervous at first, but everyone was really nice and very engaging, and able to
make it a very friendly experience. They were very open and it was easy to get into it and start talking
about what I’d done and talk about technical questions, which I hadn’t had to do before!

Tell us about your first day!

Kris: I was super nervous, I got there and me and all the other co-ops were standing around in the stairwell thinking ‘what do we do? This is such a fancy studio!’ But then once we got in seeing all the stuff in it was super cool.
Yvonne: The first day was very fun, we started with a studio tour with our HR, and they showed us where we work, we have a big kitchen, it’s a very relaxing and fun studio.
Alyson: My first day was really kind of nerve-wracking, but when I got here everyone was so welcoming, it was a really warm environment and everyone really seemed excited I was here and that they’d get to work with me. It was a really cool experience getting to see all the people here and the environment.

What was your team like?

Kris: Fantastic, they were all super great. We all had fun together and they were super open to helping me if I ever had any issues. Don’t be afraid to talk to anybody at all – my mentor said that to me, and I was able to go right to him. We were working with other studio sometimes and it was neat to be able to go through my managers to talk to other studios too.
Alyson: So great. They were super supportive, whenever I had a hurdle they would support me, work with me and work through it, they were the nicest people.

What was your best day here?

Alyson: When I finally merged in my final project and was able to look at a thing that I had made – it was a bunch of work, and it worked, and it was great. That feeling of accomplishment made that day really special.
Kris: There was a day where I’d put my tasks in review, and we were about to start a bug sprint. I took
some bugs from the bug sprint, and was able to get 4 bugs in one day and that just felt really good! That was a lot of fun.
Yvonne: Every next day, because I love the environment here, every day will be something new for me!

What surprised you the most?

Michael: The way we communicate and collaborate with our teams! There’s a sense of friendliness in the way we communicate, I was expecting it to be very rigid. But there’s a sense of openness and friendliness between the team members, it’s still professional but you can feel the collaborative spirit.
Yvonne: We got choices on the projects! I love the project I’m working on, it’s really awesome tool.
Kris: I was able to get right into doing cool stuff, I was immediately part of the team. I was able to choose the tasks I wanted to do, I was able to learn a lot more about my limits, and be able to actually contribute to what the project was in a visible way and see my work pay off. I was actually doing real work which was fantastic.

What would you say to someone who’s thinking of applying?

Yvonne: Don’t worry! Everyone here is super friendly and supportive and will teach you anything you want to learn. Learn, explore, don’t be scared of mistakes. I would totally recommend people coming to Ubisoft Winnipeg! It’s a great environment, it felt super welcoming.
Alyson: Why are you thinking about it, just do it! But seriously do it. It’s such a cool experience, don’t feel intimidated by the fact that It’s such a large company, and it can feel unattainable. Have confidence, show them who you are!
Kris: Absolutely. Definitely apply, this is fantastic place to work. if you have the chance, I’d say please do. It’s such a good place, there are some many good people, so please do!